Sorry guys, no more N60 “Agege” bread
Nigeria-famous common man’s “Agege” bread is gradually slipping out of the poor’s reach.
Many Nigerians who cannot afford high-end sliced bread, most of which do not sell below N200, heavily rely on “affordable” but less nutritious Agege bread which they usually combine with beans.
The common man will now pay more to get the stomach-filling “combo” in the coming days.
“Bakers can longer cope with this situation, hence the decision to increase the prices of bread by about 20% across board,” chairman of the Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria, Jacob Adejorin, said on Monday.
That means the cheapest “Agege” bread which went for N60 will now be sold at a higher price.
“We will now sell it for N70,” a local bread seller who identified himself as Stanley told NewsroomNG on Tuesday night. The new price regime takes effect on Wednesday.
Mama Ogechi, a trader in Somolu area of Lagos, also sells bread.
“Some bakeries may keep the price the same but reduce the weight of the bread,” she told our correspondent on Wednesday morning.
“When they increased the price across board some months ago, that’s what the bakery supplying me bread did.”
The new price regime will affect every loaf of bread baked in Nigeria, Adejorin said. He warned the association would punish any baker who fails to raise the price by 20%.
“Everyone must comply so as not to destroy the business of other bakers,” a Lagos bakery owner who doesn’t want to be named to our correspondent.
Adejorin had said the increase was necessary because of the cost of producing bread.
He said price of raw materials used for baking have risen by over 80%. He said sugar rose by 83.3% while flour soared by 114.2% in the past few months. He said, to stay in business, the association had to raise the price of bread.
One wonders how Nigerians will cope this time.
“Price of bread went up in my area over three months ago and now they’re talking of another round of increment; they must be joking,” Lagos-based journalist Uche Akolisa said.
“There is no alternative to bread, so one is stuck. The only thing is one do not eat as often as one used to.”.
